Some pointers on teaching a foreign language at primary school

Now that primary schools are starting to take a serious interest in language provision, you might be thinking of introducing a new language to your classes, but how are you going to go about it?

Could you teach a foreign language to your pupils? Yes! Absolutely! All you need is the enthusiasm and some guidence on what to teach and how to go about it (I'm setting up a site especially for primary teachers who want to introduce a foreign language to their pupils, with low-preparation, ready-to-teach (almost) lesson plans on it, but bear with me - I'll launch it properly in November hopefully).

Could you teach a foreign language to your class even if you're an absolute beginner in the language yourself? The answer is the same, in my opinion - absolutely! But take note of the points below. Mario Pei, a remarkable linguist and language learner of his era, recounted in 'How languages are learned and what languages to learn' (Harper & Row, 1973), how his school master did a fine job of teaching Spanish, by learning the language and promising always to stay at least two chapters ahead in the textbook, so learning while teaching a language is nothing new.

It has to be said, however, that not all secondary school language teachers are in favour of 'non-specialists' teaching languages to pupils, and maybe with good reason. After all, if pupils have been learning incorrect language or pronunciation for several years at primary, and then they come to secondary school with these bad habits, that the teacher has to untangle first, it is hardly going to be a smooth start to the subject. Add to that the fact that pupils who arrive at secondary school with incorrect language are likely to challenge the class teacher when they hear the correct forms, both undermining confidence in the teacher and in themselves.   

With this in mind, here are 4 pointers that can help make things run more smoothly:

(1) You don't need to teach a LOT of language at primary school, but please make every effort to ensure what you are teaching is 100% correct. Decide what you are going to teach, then check with a language teacher or a native speaker before you teach it, if possible. In fact, you can 'get away with' teaching very little and still produce an effective language lesson. 

(2) Don't worry so much about getting fluent in the language if you are a beginner. Your fluency will improve as you work on the language by yourself. You don't actually need to use target language in your classes to give instructions and explain activities, and in fact, it often gets in the way and causes confusion, wasting time and shifting the focus off the lesson off learning the actual language items you have decided to teach, and onto the chaos created by the misunderstandings. You do need to be fluent in the words and phrases you are going to teach for the lesson, however.

(3) Concentrate on learning to pronounce the language you are teaching really well. This is especially important if you are teaching French. French is a notoriously difficult language for English speakers to pronounce really well (but it's not impossible!) so if you are teaching French, it is advisable to work on your pronunciation until it is as good as it can be, for it is highly likley that you will be the maain model for your pupils to imitate. Don't underestimate how crucial this is.

(4) Try to establish contacts with the secondary school(s) your primary feeds into. Approach the departments and ask what they suggest you do. A willing, friendly secondary language department can be a fantastic resource to draw upon and they can help you set up a language program that fits in well with what they are going to teach. You may also find less than willing departments, but don't let that deter you - I'm here to help, and I've had a lot of experience from both perspectives.

Comments

[Nic]

Can't wait! I attended a course last Friday on behalf of the HT, but I suspect that MFL co-ordination may wing its way towards me, since the complete lack of enthusiasm from anyone else was totally underwhelming!
I'm going to dip my toe in the water next term with an Italian after school club, but as to the in-class teaching - not sure how we'll deal with that if I'm down with Y2!

[Chris Byrnes]

Hi Nic.
I am sorry to hear that your colleagues are not as enthusiastic as you are about language teaching. Dont let it get you down, though. Languages are great for children - not just as a vital tool, but as a bridge between cultures and a wayof fostering international understanding, and as a by-product, racial tolerance.

I can understand why your colleagues are so gloomy about it, though. It's more work, and, after all, the UK has never really needed to worry about foreign languages because 'Everyone else speaks English'. That's not true, actually. There's a great book out there by a linguist called Edward Trimnell, called 'Why you need a foreign language and how to learn one' who took on a task I wouldn't touch with a barge-pole - to convince English speakers why they need to learn a foreign language - and he did a very good job of it too! It was originally written for Americans, but the latest and expanded edition includes a lot more about the UK. I was in touch with Ed personally, earlier in the year, and he said he hadn't realised that Britons were just as reluctant to learn languages as Americans.

Anyway, here's a link to his site - I don't mind giving it a plug because he's a really good guy: http://www.edwardtrimnell.com/

You might want to get a copy and leave it lying around in the staffroom!

So you're going to be teaching Italian. What a delight for your class to be learning such a beautiful language - the key to the culture of that wonderful country!

Your comments have inspired faster action on another post I was planning to make about how to introduce a foreign language to your classes - I'll post it in the main section over the next couple of days.

Be well!

Chris

P.S. I have just set up a new email on my site so that people can mail me suggestions of what they want to see/need - I've got LOADS to put on there, and ideas for introducing anything you want, but the only problem is it takes ages to write them up. So if you telme what you need now, I can use that as a basis for what I put on there first.

P.P.S. Almost forgot - suggestions[at]primaryschoolmfl.com

[elena]

Hi everyone,
I'm Italian and I have been teaching English as a foreign language to Primary school children for almost 20 years.
I also taught Italian as a foreign language: this was in Scotland a few years ago when they had a special program about teaching foreign languages in Primary schools.
I was in England last summer and saw how French was taugh in a school were I had a placement during a teacher exchange.
I'm also involved in teacher training.
If I can be of any help, I'll be glad to share my experience and ideas with you all.
If you want to try out your Italian, you're very welcome!
Ciao,
Elena

[Daniellam]

Ciao Elena, my name is Daniella, i was working in a Primary School as a teaching assistant and dance teacher. I have been asked to teach Italian and i said yes.
I used to teach english as a foreign language so i wanted to take a new challenge.
I am teaching as an unqualified teacher, but there is a two week training course in Rome that i would like to do in march, this is a course fo those who want to teach italian as a foreign language.
I don't want to go to Uni, so i chose this route, by the way i speak fluent italian.
I'm teaching the children the basics for now like: come ti chiami, come stai, dove abiti, counting and some words in general, am i doing the right thing?
I do alot of oral work more than written work. Any advice?

Grazie e buona giornata

Dany

[lourdes]

hola! im a teacher assistant in primary school.My job include helping out my teacher with her lesson in Spanish.As well i teach Spanish in after school club.One thing is I enjoyed teaching my language,but Im not a qualified to teach and i dont think ill cope in uni,any other suggestion to became spanish teacher as foreign language?
Thanks